Saturday, September 26, 2009

Ok I've had some questions about how I made the eyelids for the eyes I use for my toys. So here's the exact pattern used for the eyelids for the frog.

The basic construction is the same for anything. You just vary the stitches you use from slip stitch to single crochet to trebles depending on how big the eyes are and your yarn in relation to them. For big eyes and thin yarn use taller stitches. Depending on how prominent you want the eyelids to look you can also add a third round. I recommend decreasing another stitch or two if you add another round to keep the eyelids snug against the eyes.

Eyelids for frogdc =double crochettrbl = treble crochetdc/trbl-inc = dc or trbl as noted twice into the same stitch to increase one stitch.dc x2 just means dc in the next two stitches

Pull magic loop closed after the first round but not completely, you want to leave room for the shank of the eye.Repeat instructions inside the ( ) as many times as noted

Cut yarn leaving a long tail, thread through eyelid and when you attach the eyes take it through the head of the frog and sew the thread down. You don’t need to sew the eyelid to the head the washer and eye will hold it on pretty tightly, but you can if you want.

And that’s it. This will give you a slightly more prominent eyelid on one side, when you attach the eyes put that bit at the top of the eye.

Monday, September 21, 2009

I've been busy with several non craft things lately but I have finished one fun thing.

His name is Squilch the mold sprite.Squilch is the faerie in charge of making sure that things mold and rot properly. A very important task. He’s the one that ensures the all that food in your fridge gets used. Because if it’s sitting in there for too long then obviously you aren’t using it and it shouldn’t go to waste. Fungus and molds spring up everywhere he touches. He loves to leave fuzzy footprints around your shower or bathtub when you haven’t scrubbed in a while. And he likes to touch fruit that has been left sitting out for days to see if it’s still tasty. Unfortunately there is no way to keep Squilch away completely but he wants everyone to understand that he is helping. If he weren’t here you wouldn’t pay attention to all the good stuff you’ve got. He’s a reminder to enjoy things, because they don’t last forever.

I had lots of fun with the mold designs and I'm really tempted to make lots more moldy items. Preferably things that aren't fuzzy already since the hairs of the green yarn made it tough to embroider nicely.I think a line of fruits and vegetables that have started to go bad would be a lot of fun. Maybe later.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

I've stalled on the Doozer pattern till I can get a boot that I like the look of.I've got an idea for something that will need a small cage as part of the design. I haven't been able to find anything that will work with my concept so I think I'll be making a small bent wood cage soon. A few other things have been finished since I disappeared to work on the dragon. I made a frog from a new Hansigurumi pattern. I really enjoy her work they are so much fun to make and come out so nicely. It was done with Koigu sock yarn and 18mm hand painted safety eyes. With my crochet eyelids mod I've used on many other things.

There is also a very small fish that I haven't gotten a photo of yet. And a few other bits and bobs.

The Fantasy Creatures swap is done and now I get to post about what I made.Dragons seemed like the most fun of the choices my partner listed of her favorite creatures. And a nice change from the person shaped stuff I had done in the last two swaps. I only crocheted one thing this time. Everything else was done in other mediums.It came out pretty cute. I had to do a lot of odd shaping to get what I wanted so I didn't even keep notes on anything but the legs.

I really don't feel like posting anything while I'm working on swap stuff. Having to keep things secret tend to make me go quiet on everything rather than beat around the bush to avoid giving anything away. Hopefully now that this swap is done I'll post more. I'm going to stick to my resolution not to join any swaps for the rest of the year at a minimum.

I do have some fun new things planned and I've got some items in the works that I can get back to now.

About Me

I've been playing around with crochet and knitting for a few years now. Mainly I make toys. I think they're more fun and they are lower commitment projects than sweaters or afghans. A lot of the stuff I make is my own design, particularly when it comes to crochet. I'm not very good at reading crochet patterns so I free form most things. Besides, that's usually more fun.